Around the country, hospital emergency rooms are reporting staggering numbers of visits related to trendy energy drinks like Red Bull, Rockstar, Monster, and 5-Hour Energy. The number of ER admissions involving the controversial beverages doubled between 2007 and 2011, according to a new report issued by the Drug Abuse Warning Network (DAWN). Potential health risks of energy drinks include heart problems, sleep disturbances, diuresis, and hyperglycemia.

Free Confidential Lawsuit Evaluation: If you or a loved one has been injured by an energy drink, you should contact our law firm immediately. You may be entitled to compensation by filing a suit against the manufacturer and our lawyers can help.

What’s the problem?

According to the DAWN report, there were 10,068 hospital emergency room visits related to energy drinks in the United States in 2007. The vast majority of these patients were males between the ages of 18 and 39. By 2011, ER visits linked to energy drinks jumped to 20,783, with a drastic increase in the number of older individuals admitted with complications after consuming the beverages.

The report found that, in most cases, energy drink side effects were due to the excessive amount of caffeine contained in the beverages. A sizable percentage of the ER admissions also involved the use of drugs or alcohol in combination with energy drinks.

“A growing body of scientific evidence documents harmful health effects of energy drinks, particularly for children, adolescents, and young adults,” the DAWN report states. “Research has established that, among college students, there are associations between energy drink consumption and problematic behaviors such as marijuana use, sexual risk taking, fighting, smoking, drinking, and prescription drug misuse.”

In addition to the DAWN report, a recent article published in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) found that energy drinks can contain up to four times the amount of caffeine than that found in the average soft drink. The report listed the following health complications associated with energy drinks:

Increased heart rate

Irregular heart beat and palpitations

Sleep disturbances and insomnia

Diuresis

Hyperglycemia

Increased pressure was placed on the energy drink industry after the death of Anais Fournier, a 14-year-old girl who allegedly died after consuming two cans of Monster Energy Drink in a 24-hour period. Her parents filed a wrongful death lawsuit against Monster Corp., alleging that the company failed to adequately warn the public about the potential health risks associated with their products.

According to new information released by the U.S. Food & Drug Administration (FDA), there have been at least four deaths attributed to Monster Energy Drinks and another 13 deaths linked to 5-Hour Energy. Additionally, Rockstar Energy Drinks have been cited in at least 13 non-fatal adverse event reports (AERS) submitted to the administration in recent years.

Do I Have an Energy Drink Lawsuit?

The Product Liability & Defective Drug Litigation Group at our law firm is an experienced team of trial lawyers that focus on the representation of plaintiffs in Energy Drink Lawsuits. We are handling individual litigation nationwide and currently accepting new injury and death cases in all 50 states.

Free Confidential Case Evaluation: Again, if you were injured by energy drink side effects, you should contact our law firm immediately. You may be entitled to a settlement by filing a suit and we can help.